Finding the right toys for Christmas!

For small kids, I believe this to be one of the coolest gifts around: The Leapfrog Leappad Ultra

The review on this website is done by a school teacher, who gives some very useful information that helped me to decide that this is a worthwhile gift.     She also gives recommendations that help in finding the best games for you kid for this educational toy.

For big kids, like me, I thought this was a cool toy:

The Rikomagic MK802 iv Mini Computer 

It is a little dohicky hat you hook up to your tv, and then your TV becomes an Android Jelly Bean Computer...  

I ordered this one already.

Just wanted so share some of the things I found useful.   If you guys have any ideas about these products, please feel free to leave a coment.

Thanks.

Greatest Guitarist of all Time

I was driving today and was listening to Jimi Hendrix, on Sirus Satellite Radio.  It amazes me how so many years later, this guitarist is still inspiring people to pickup a guitar and learn how to play it.   His music is still relevant today, as it was back then, when it was being recorded by Eddie Kramer.

His legendary sound was created by pumping his amazing talent through a Fender Strat, Wa Wa Pedal, Fuzz Face Overdrive and into stacks for Marshall amplifiers.  Many believe it was Hendrix who made those guitars and amplifiers as famous as they are.

So, I decided to spend a little time reflecting on one of the greatest guitarists the world will ever know.

Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington.  Jimi  didn’t have an easy childhood.  Hiis parents divorced when he was 9 years old.  In 1958, his mother died at which point he then stayed with his grandmother. Hendrix didn't graduate high school due to poor grades and frequent absences.

Jimi  joined the army, because of getting into trouble with the law. Instead of spending two years in prison, he was given a choice to join the army.  He was released from the military due to an injury.

As a child, Jimi started his interest in guitar. As many children do, he would use the broom and pretend it was his guitar.  His father, Al, then found a one string ukulele and gave it to his son.  In 1958, Al bought a five-dollar second hand acoustic guitar for Jimi. And that was the beginning of his career. It is an important fact that the man who would be thought of as a guitar God was entirely self taught.

He joined his first band, the Velvetones, which he was a member for only  three months.  The next summer, his father bought him his first electric guitar. After his release from the army, Jimi and army friend Billy Cox formed a band called The King Casuals.  By 1964, when he moved to New York, he had played behind Sam Cooke, B.B. King, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Ike and Tina Turner, and Wilson Pickett.  In New York he played the club circuit with King Curtis, the Isley Brothers, John Paul Hammond, and Curtis Knight.  In 1965 Hendrix formed his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, to play Greenwich Village coffeehouses. Chas Chandler of the Animals took him to London in the autumn of 1966 and arranged for the creation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Englishmen Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

The Jimi Hendrix era began.  His first single "Hey Joe" was so successful it was on the charts for ten weeks then was followed by an album called "Are You Experienced". The album was followed by "Axis: Bold as Love". In 1969, Redding left the group.  Mitchell stayed for awhile but also left on August of the same year.  Later that year Hendrix formed the Band of Gypsys, again with army friend Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. In 1970, he brought back Mitch Mitchell and together with Billy Cox, once again, The Jimi Hendrix Experience was formed.  The group then, started recording several tracks but was unable to finish it due to his hectic schedule of tour.

On September 18, 1970, Hendrix was found dead in the basement flat of the Samarkand Hotel at 22 Lansdowne Crescent in London. It was not clear what the real cause of his death was. 

Jimi Hedrix was ranked as number one by Rolling Stone.  And because of his unique style, the combination of blues, jazz, fuzz and pioneered the technique of guitar feedback with overdriven amplifiers, Hendrix, no doubt, has been one of the most influential guitarists of all time.

Amazing Guitar Builder - Crimson Guitars

... All I can say is wow!

This guy, I think his name is Ben, is amazing.   If you are interested in guitar building, you have to see this guy in action.

His youtube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/CrimsonCustomGuitars

The guy is off the hook.   You have to be someone who has made a guitar to really appreciate this dude.   He makes impossible stuff look easy....

In his multi-part how to build a guitar series, he builds a custom Les Paul guitar. The thing that blow me away, is how he works with hand tools, like Planes and Saws.   Sawing fret slots without a miter box, with a hand saw...   Doing a compound Radius on a fret board with only a plane...

And... using an angle grinder to carve the top of a Les Paul....  

If you have ever done this kind of work, and see him do it, you will be blown away....   I recommend NOT doing things like him, only because it takes years and years of experience and immense talent to do what he does...   

He is my new hero, and he kind of makes me want to shave my head and get tattooed.

If you are into seeing an amazing craftsman, check him out.

Just Got Gas! - 2 hr wait.

Who ever thought it would be so hard to get Gas.   I was using Gasbuddy to find gas stations that actually had gas.

Even so, I waited 2 hours, hoping that they would still have gas by the time I got to the pump.

One of the things I think we all need to consider is just how dependent we are on Gas and Electricity...

Perhaps, revisiting some of the old way of survival, should be taught.   Camping skills.... Food Preserving, etc.

Imagine what it would be like for you if you had no electricity for 9 days.   Cold Showers, all of your food gone bad, no heat, and worry about the pipes in your house freezing...

That is what reality is like for many of those in the North East right now...   THE ONES WHO ARE LUCKY.

The ones who are not lucky lost everything they own....

So, I am a lucky one...   When you put it in perspective, I am happy to wait 2 hrs for gas...  Because I am alive to do so...

Be safe and warm.

List of Open Gas Stations on Long Island NY after Hurricane Sandy

Here is a list open gas stations on Long Island I received from a colleague. Please share with everyone.

·         Valero, Jericho Turnpike, Huntington Station

·         Gulf Gas on the corner of Merrick Ave and Jerusalem Ave, Merrick (right off of Southern State pkwy exit 24N)

·         OK Petroleum on Rt. 109 at Feustal St.

·         CITGO on Rt. 109 at Sunrise

·         BP Gas Station on Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown next to the Wantagh Parkay

·         SUNOCO on Hempstead Turnpike and 106 takes credit

·         Exxon on Old Country Road in Westbury near the Wantagh parkway.

·         Hess in Plainview

·         Gulf, Middle Country Road, Centereach (Next to McDonald's)

·         Shell Station, Route 112, Patchogue (North of Sunrise Highway)

·         Hess – Route 25A – Wading River

·         Gas at 25A and Hawkins Ave by the Good Steer in Lake Grove

·         Getty – Terry Rd & Smithtown Blvd – Smithtown

·         Shell – Smithtown Blvd – Smithtown

·         Hess – Union Blvd – W. Islip

·         Citgo – Medford Ave & Horseblock Rd – Farmingville

·         76 Gas Station on Carlton Ave in East Islip

·         Hess Gas Station, Vets Highway, Hauppauge

·         SHELL, HESS & GULF on Vets Highway in Commack

·         Millennium Gas on Middle Country Road in Wading River

·         Hess on Jericho Tpke in Syosset

·         BJ's on Rt 110 in Farmingdale

·         Hess on Rt 112 in Patchogue

·         Hess at Sunrise Exit 59 in Manorville

·         Hess on 347 in Setauket

·         Pit Stop in Smithtown

·         Hess on Deer Park Ave in Deer Park

·         Sunoco on 347 in Port Jeff

·         Hess in Miller Place

·         Getty on Babylon Tpke in Merrick

·         Citgo on Vets Highway in Bohemia

·         Citgo on Hoffman Ave in Lindenhurst